Computer Law

Rick B. and David O. - If a computer, using a complex formula, makes a decision that effects us - say develops new administrative regulations...can it ever be arbitrary and capricious? Or, are we just f-ed?

From the BBC:

"At last month's TEDGlobal conference, algorithm expert Kevin Slavin delivered one of the tech show's most "sit up and take notice" speeches where he warned that the "maths that computers use to decide stuff" was infiltrating every aspect of our lives.

Among the examples he cited were a robo-cleaner that maps out the best way to do housework, and the online trading algorithms that are increasingly controlling Wall Street.

"We are writing these things that we can no longer read," warned Mr Slavin.

"We've rendered something illegible. And we've lost the sense of what's actually happening in this world we've made."

It is not just robots, it turns out these programs are actually helping or making daily decisions for us.

"British firm Epagogix is taking this concept to its logical conclusion, using algorithms to predict what makes a hit movie.

It takes a bunch of metrics - the script, plot, stars, location - and crunches them all together with the box office takings of similar films to work out how much money it will make.

The system has, according to chief executive Nick Meaney, "helped studios to make decisions about whether to make a movie or not".

In the case of one project - which had been assigned a £180m production cost - the algorithm worked out that it would only take £30m at the box office, meaning it simply wasn't worth making.

For another movie, it worked out that the expensive female lead the studio had earmarked for a film would not yield any more of a return than using a less expensive star."

...

"a recent study by psychologists at Columbia University found that reliance on search engines for answers is actually changing the way humans think.

"Since the advent of search engines, we are reorganising the way we remember things. Our brains rely on the internet for memory in much the same way they rely on the memory of a friend, family member or co-worker," said report author Betsy Sparrow.

Increasingly, she argues, we are knowing where information can be found rather than retaining knowledge itself."

...

"Up to 70% of Wall Street trading is now run by so-called black box or algo-trading."

...

"In the so-called Flash Crash of 2.45 on May 6 2010, a five minute dip in the markets caused momentary chaos....it was the computer program that the unnamed trader was using that was really to blame....No-one has ever managed to pinpoint exactly what happened, and the market recovered minutes later."

So what happens when algorithims start making decisions for the State that effect us...really effect us, like passing regulations?  Deciding who to do secondary screening on at the airport?  Who to arrest instead of PTA on a minor misdemeanor?  Who to sell a gun to?  Who to hire or fire?

Thoughts?